Le Charles de Gaulle, French aircraft carrier with 1,850 sailors on board, has been deployed since the beginning of March in the eastern Mediterranean due to the outbreak of the war between Israel and the United States with Iran. “France did not trigger this conflict, it is not involved. But we are acting as a peace power, a balance power. This is the strict framework in which we are operating today,” said Emmanuel Macron on March 9.
Three weeks after its deployment, the flagship of the French Navy is still in the eastern Mediterranean, somewhere off the coast of Crete. It monitors the area, provides information on what is happening in the sky and on the sea. Its flight deck, with its 20 Rafale aircraft, is constantly active. Pilots take off and land day and night. The French navy flagship does not engage in combat with Iran, but seeks to deter and prevent attacks from Tehran on allied countries, especially European ones like Cyprus.
Since its arrival, the vessel has not been targeted by a missile or drone fired by Iran. Its mission remains purely defensive. The goal is also to ensure the protection of French interests in the Middle East, its 400,000 nationals, and the ships sailing in the area.
The Charles de Gaulle surrounded by a protection bubble
Amidst the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, the Charles de Gaulle is not alone. It is escorted by several warships, the GAN, the naval air group. For this mission, it is also accompanied by three foreign frigates, one Spanish, one Irish, and one Italian.
One must imagine a protection bubble extending hundreds of kilometers around the Charles de Gaulle. This protection is provided in the sky by surveillance and intelligence aircraft, at sea by defense ships equipped with radars and missiles, as well as specialized anti-submarine patrol boats with sonars. Finally, a French nuclear attack submarine, an essential striking tool, operates near the aircraft carrier without surfacing.
What role will the aircraft carrier play in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz?
Today, France and around twenty countries, including France, are ready to contribute to the necessary efforts for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The Charles de Gaulle has been designed to undertake multiple missions, it could very well be tasked with securing the Strait of Hormuz, this maritime corridor along the Iranian coast, so that traffic resumes.
The aircraft carrier could escort the passage of oil tankers and container ships, leveraging its intelligence capabilities as the Charles de Gaulle allows to observe events for thousands of kilometers around. This is a mission that its predecessor, the Clemenceau, accomplished around forty years ago during the tanker war. At that time, Iran was carrying out attacks on merchant ships in the Persian Gulf. However, the head of state, Emmanuel Macron, has emphasized that the French aircraft carrier would not act alone, only within the framework of an international coalition, once hostilities have ended.
